RALLY TO SAVE GREGORY CANYON SET FOR OCTOBER 20

October 14, 2012 (Pala) – A coalition fighting to stop out-of-town investors from developing a garbage dump in Gregory Canyon near Pala will rally at the Pala Rey Youth Camp on Saturday, October 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on October 20. Robert Smith, Chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians and Shasta Gaughen, EPA Director of the Pala Indians will be among the speakers and honored guests. The event will also feature traditional bird singing to protect Gregory Canyon as well as information on the fight to save the sacred mountain, which includes rock paintings and a medicine rock.

“The commitment to saving Gregory Canyon is as strong today as it ever was,” said Robert Smith, Chairman of the Pala Band of Mission Indians. “We want the community to know we are still here fighting to save the region’s water supply and will do whatever it takes to stop this dump.”

The proposed Gregory Canyon landfill is at the base of a religious site sacred to several Southern Californian Indian tribes and would permanently damage several other sacred landmarks. The site threatens several endangered and protected species and is located in a floodplain, near an earthquake fault and would compromise drinking water for thousands of San Diego residents.